


Little Slice of Heaven

by HeartsInJeopardy



Category: Catherine (Video Game)
Genre: Cooking, M/M, Nightmares, Post-Game, Rin True Ending, The Stray Sheep, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, arcade date
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-07
Updated: 2020-07-07
Packaged: 2021-03-04 20:34:42
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,939
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25122490
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HeartsInJeopardy/pseuds/HeartsInJeopardy
Summary: After surviving the trials, saving all of humankind and traveling the galaxy, Vincent and Rin needed time to unwind.
Relationships: Vincent Brooks/Rin
Comments: 6
Kudos: 36





	Little Slice of Heaven

**Author's Note:**

> I was surprised by the lack of fics about this couple and decided to contribute my own. I know Rin’s introduction to the series was a little contentious, but after playing through his route it’s hard to believe anyone found these two anything short of adorable together.  
> This is just a fluffy story about a day in Vincent and Rin’s life back on the space station after their wedding and Rin’s galactic tour.  
> NB – The one noticeable change I made from the Rin True Ending is pairing up Jonny and Katherine.

“Vincent! Vincent! Come quick!”

“Hang on,” he told Rin with a laugh. “I’m coming, I’m coming.”

Vincent let Rin take his hand and pull him through the bustling arcade – noting as always the surprising strength in Rin’s grip. He tugged Vincent through the crowded floor in a weaving path, hooking around banks of arcade machines with blank-faced players staring at their screens. A few of the younger players turned in their seats to gawk at them, and Vincent pegged them as members of Rin’s fan club.

They finally stopped in an empty corner of the arcade, before a row of older cabinets with fading decals of cartoonish characters on their sides.

Rin tapped his hand on one’s screen, pointing urgently at a platformer with a pint-sized knight climbing over blocks. “It’s just like the one at the Stray Sheep!” he said with a beaming smile.

“’Super Rapunzel Junior’,” Vincent read off the cabinet. “Well that game’s been at the bar a long time. I guess it’s no surprise the sequel’s already old too.”

Rin was staring so intently at the game that Vincent couldn’t be sure if he was listening. He smiled to himself, watching Rin take in the game’s demo mode with rapt attention, then dug one of the arcade’s tokens out of his pocket. He gently brushed a hand through Rin’s pink hair, making him turn away from the screen.

“Bet you can’t get the high score on this one too,” Vincent taunted him. “Wanna play?”

Rin smiled as he shook his head. “Not yet, I want to keep looking around first.”

Rin wandered away from the machines and through the arcade, stopping here and there to inspect a game cabinet, or a railing coiled with LED lights, or a player’s embroidered jacket. Even after traveling the galaxy, Rin kept finding new details to fascinate him wherever they went. Watching Rin discover them was one of Vincent’s favorite things about their relationship.

He trailed Rin on their meandering path through the arcade until a game’s pink flashing lights caught their eyes. Rin pressed his hands against the claw machine’s glass and leaned in close, gazing at the hoard of plush toys inside.

“Whoa!” he said under his breath. “What are all of those doing in there?

“It’s a UFO catcher,” Vincent explained.

Rin swiftly pulled his hands off the machine and took a step back, glancing anxiously at Vincent. “A what?”

“A crane game,” Vincent corrected himself. Rin kept regarding the machine warily and Vincent set a hand on his shoulder. “You steer that claw inside with the controls and try to pick up one of the toys. Want me to win something for you?”

Rin only nodded. He kept his distance as Vincent put a token in the machine and took hold of its joystick. The crane whirred to life and a cheery tune played over the game’s speakers. Vincent steered the claw delicately, positioning it right over his target – a black cat with a yellow bandana – before slapping the “Grab” button.

The crane lowered with dramatic slowness before closing its claw around the prize. It hauled the cat up and was halfway to the chute before the toy slipped out and fell back on the pile.

“Crap,” Vincent grunted. “They, uh, make it hard on purpose to get your tokens. I’ve got it this time.”

“Can I try?” Rin asked.

Vincent looked over his shoulder and found Rin standing closer, his interest piqued again. He slid another token in and motioned to the controls, “All yours.”

Rin pushed his bracelet up on his arm before taking hold of the joystick, a gesture Vincent recognized from the countless games of Super Rapunzel he had watched Rin play. Rin concentrated on lining up the claw – with the deadly serious expression of a bomb disposal technician – and his tongue slid out between his lips in another familiar gesture.

As his eyes drifted up to Vincent’s face, Rin relaxed instantly and one corner of his lips curled up. “What’s so funny?” he asked.

“What?”

“You were smiling.”

“I don’t know…” Vincent swept a hand through his fringe of dark curls, looking away from Rin’s bright blue eyes before he started blushing. “You just look really cute when you’re… in the zone.”

“ _The zone_ ,” Rin repeated in a hushed tone before breaking into a giggle. “I like that.”

Vincent tapped the glass wall in front of Rin. “Well let’s see if it actually pays off for you.”

Rin focused in on the game again, making a few minute adjustments to the claw before gingerly pressing the “Grab” button.

Vincent tried to eyeball the claw’s path as it sank down over the stuffed toys and guessed that it wouldn’t pick up anything. He was scanning the room for another token machine when an excited gasp from Rin made his head snap back to the game.

The claw rose up brimming with toys, so many that Vincent could only guess the sheer density of the plush animals was keeping them from slipping out of its grip. He expected at least one or two to shake off on the claw’s return path, but the fuzzy toys held together like magnets until the claw dropped them all above the chute.

Some sensor must have registered the heavy weight dropped into the prize box, because the machine’s lights flashed rainbow colors and its speakers belted out a trumpet fanfare. Rin – already grinning from ear to ear at his bounty of toys – clapped his hands and laughed in response.

“Can you believe it?” he asked Vincent cheerfully as the toys came flooding out of the prize box’s flap.

“I really, really can’t,” Vincent said with a chuckle.

Rin knelt down among the toys, sifting through the brightly colored animals until he settled on one.

“Here,” he told Vincent, and held up a plush sheep with dark curly hair. “You can take this one, as a present.”

“Aw… thanks.” Vincent glanced between the scruffy looking sheep and the mound of bigger toys at Rin’s feet. “That’s pretty generous of you.”

He reached out to take the toy but Rin hugged it to his chest. “I’ll hang on to yours,” he told Vincent. “Can you carry mine?”

Vincent’s smile changed into a grimace as he looked down at the heap of toys, with more still spilling out of the game’s prize box. If Rin noticed Vincent’s concerned expression, he didn’t show it. He just kept smiling warmly, swinging the stuffed sheep in his arms and waiting patiently for Vincent.

“Suuuure,” Vincent sighed at last. He crouched down and began scooping up the toys by the armful. “It’s no problem.”

Rin rocked forward onto his tiptoes, leaving a soft kiss on the crown of Vincent’s head before skipping down an aisle of game cabinets.

“Take your time,” he called back to Vincent. “I want to beat Super Rapunzel Junior before we go.”

***

“Vincent!” Rin shouted. “Do we have any marshmallows?”

Vincent paused the video game he was playing and set his controller on one of the heaps of toys they had brought home earlier that day. As he crossed from their apartment’s living room to the kitchen, he had one of his short, daily reflections on how nice it was living somewhere big enough to have distinct rooms.

He leaned in the doorway and scratched a hand through his messy curls. “Maybe… in the snack cupboard?” he suggested.

From his footstool at the stove, Rin rose on his tiptoes and stretched at a dangerous angle to try and open the cupboard while stirring a steaming pot. Vincent blurted out a garbled warning and rushed over to open the door himself.

“I’ll get it, I’ll get it” he mumbled, gently tipping Rin back onto the stool.

Vincent snuck glances at Rin while rooting around in the cupboard. Ever since they moved in together Rin had been branching out from his collection of borrowed clothes, learning more about human fashion and finding styles that suited him.

But to Vincent, Rin was just as beautiful in moments like this: sporting mismatched, woolly socks and a baggy sweater borrowed from his closet that hung down over Rin’s bare legs.

Rin glanced up from the bubbling pot and frowned at Vincent. “Are you looking?”

“I’m looking,” Vincent muttered, turning his eyes back to the cupboard.

Sure enough, Vincent found a bag of jumbo marshmallows tucked behind cans of potato chips. He ripped the bag open and stuffed one in his mouth before handing the rest to Rin.

“Cooging megs ew ‘ungry, huh?” he said with a mouth full of gummy marshmallow. “I’m the same way.” 

“Hmm?” Rin asked.

He turned to Vincent with a curious expression while shaking the marshmallows into the thick, purple liquid boiling in the stovetop pot. Vincent’s eyes widened and he coughed down the rest of his marshmallow.

“I thought you were making soup,” he said incredulously.

“I am!”

Rin pulled up a spoonful of the viscous, purple liquid and blew the steam off it as he always did. Vincent noted that the bizarre dish took some of the charm out of Rin’s sweet quirk.

To Vincent’s horror, Rin held the spoon out to him with an inviting smile. “It’s _pardok_ ,” he said.

“P-pardon?”

“Par- _dok_ ,” Rin corrected him, inching the spoon closer to Vincent’s lips. “Open wide…”

Vincent’s eyes darted between the spoonful of purple goop and Rin’s warm smile, which shrank little by little the longer Vincent kept from trying the soup. At last he opened his mouth a crack then quickly closed it around the spoon, trying to make his first taste as small as possible.

What struck Vincent was how the warm soup left a chilly feeling on his tongue. He quickly gulped it down but his mouth kept on tingling with the sharp aftertaste.

“Minty,” Vincent noted with a brisk exhale. “Kind of like spearmint gum. Almost.”

Rin tasted his own spoonful and let out a refreshed sigh. “Where I come from, we always make _pardok_ for birthdays. And since I have so many brothers there was always a fresh batch. But somehow, it always tastes the best on your own birthday.”

Vincent put on a chagrinned smile. When he had mentioned his birthday to Rin months ago he didn’t expect Rin to actually take note of it. It had been years since he’d really celebrated getting older and thought that Rin would have forgotten the date like the rest of his friends.

At least now he understood why Rin – who was more than happy to let Vincent do all the cooking - had suddenly demanded to make dinner tonight.

“Hey,” he said, lightly stroking Rin’s arm, “You don’t have to go through all this trouble for me.”

“I want to,” Rin insisted. He took Vincent’s hand and threaded their fingers together, making their wedding bands rub against each other. “You took care of me during my tour, so I want to pay you back.”

Vincent wrapped his arms around Rin’s waist, pulling him off the footstool and into his arms as Rin let out a stream of giggles.

“You don’t owe me anything,” Vincent cooed, rubbing their noses together. “I take care of you because I love you.”

“I know,” Rin said softly. One of his hands cupped Vincent’s cheek while the other swept Vincent’s fringe away from his gray-blue eyes. “Because I feel just the same way.”

Rin leaned in slowly, closing his bright blue eyes as their lips met in a tender kiss. He wrapped his legs around Vincent and they pressed against each other in a tight embrace, with Vincent’s hands sliding down to grip Rin’s bare thighs.

Vincent pulled back and lowered his head to press soft kisses on Rin’s neck. Rin threw his head back and kept his eyes closed, running his hands idly through Vincent’s curly hair. He let out short gasps and quiet purrs when the combination of Vincent’s touches on his bare skin – his lips, his short stubble and his strong grip – proved overwhelming.

Vincent worked his way back up Rin’s neck, trailing kisses along his jaw and on his cheek. He stopped to nuzzle his face against Rin’s silky hair and savored its sweet aroma.

Hair products were one of the things Rin seemed compelled to collect, and their shower was lined with shampoos, conditioners and treatments of all kinds. He loved to mix and match several at once but, maybe because of Rin’s alien nature, his hair never seemed to lose its bright color and luster.

Instead Rin came out of the shower with a different mingling of scents each morning. Getting close enough to suss out the individual aromas was another of Vincent’s favorite things about life with Rin.

Today he could pick up hints of vanilla, lavender, lemon, coconut, smoke…

“Is something burning?” Vincent asked.

“Oh no!” Rin jumped down from his arms and snatched up a pair of oven mitts. “I left your cake in.”

He yanked open the oven door, releasing a stream of dark smoke that instantly set off the smoke alarm. Vincent fanned the air around it while Rin flapped an oven mitt over a smouldering baking pan. When the screeching alarm finally turned off Vincent moved beside Rin. They stared down in silence at the crispy square of black cake sitting on the stove.

Vincent rubbed Rin’s shoulders reassuringly and tried his best to sound positive. “It might not be so bad,” he said. “Once we put the icing on it.”

“I ruined it,” Rin sighed. “I wanted to make your birthday special.”

Vincent let out a deep, genuine laugh that made Rin give him a curious look. He put his arm around Rin and kissed his forehead, then swept a stray lock of pink hair back into place.

“It’s been a long, long time since I’ve had a birthday this special.” Vincent said with a grin. He dipped a finger in the cooling pot of _pardok and_ licked the gooey purple soup off his finger. “You’re all I need. Everything else is just a bonus.”

Rin’s smile returned and he rose on his tiptoes to peck Vincent’s cheek. But he sighed again and gazed wistfully at the burnt pan.

“It feels wrong to be upset after hearing something so sweet,” he said with a pout. “But I was really looking forward to the cake.”

***

Toby stretched out his neck to one side, letting out a string of _cracks_ and _pops_ loud enough to be heard over Rin’s music. Vincent froze with a glass halfway to his lips and cringed.

“The wrestling career is taking a toll on you huh?” he asked.

“This is just from practice,” Toby grunted, rolling his neck the other way. “I don’t know how Erica has the energy while still working here.”

The Stray Sheep had been Vincent and Rin’s first stop after returning from their tour, and to Vincent’s surprise and delight the bar was just the same as usual even after the months they had spent away.

Tonight the same group of regulars as always filled out the tables and booths. Justin mixed drinks at the bar, Erica waited on the customers, and Rin was playing his piano in the corner.

A few starry-eyed tourists filmed Rin on their camera phones, but for the most part the station had not caught on that the “pianist of happiness” was back to playing regular gigs at the quiet bar.

“Are you getting a cut of Rin’s tips?” Orlando asked Vincent with a sly smile. “I guess that’s for managers, not producers.”

Vincent chuckled. “No, but anytime one of his records plays on Denobulan radio…” He rubbed his fingers together in the intergalactic gesture for money.

“When’s the next tour scheduled?” Jonny asked.

“It’s not. Yet.” Vincent shrugged and swept a hand through his hair. “We have some time booked in a local studio but that’s as far ahead as we’ve planned.”

“Come on guys.” Toby nudged Jonny with his elbow. “You know how Vincent feels about rushing into things.”

“It’s not like that this time,” Vincent insisted. “We’re just… in a good place right now.”

“But Rin’s happy to keep his feet on the ground for now?” Orlando asked. The uncertain head tilt Vincent made in reply drew soft laughter from Toby.

Rin’s song ended and the abrupt sound of applause interrupted the conversation. Vincent and his friends clapped along as he stood up from their booth to make room for Rin.

“I’ll admit we haven’t talked about it that much,” Vincent said quietly. “But now’s not the time so…”

His friends mumbled their acknowledgements as Rin drew closer to the table.

“You were great,” Vincent told him with a quick peck on the lips. “As always.” They squeezed back into the booth together with Rin between Vincent and Orlando.

“Jonny, is Katherine coming tonight?” Rin asked.

“No, her new job is keeping her busy again. But she says hello to everyone, even Vincent.” The others laughed and even Vincent hid a smile behind his glass.

“Gee Orlando, you’d better find a date soon,” Toby said with a smirk. “You’re starting to look like the seventh wheel in this group.”

Orlando smiled sheepishly. “Not for long. I’ve had my eye on someone for a while and I think it’s about time to make my move.”

“You should make it obvious,” Rin blurted out. The others furrowed their brows and stared at him, waiting for an explanation. “That’s what Erica told me,” Rin continued, “before me and Vincent got together.”

Orlando glanced at Vincent but he shrugged, still just as confused as everyone else. Before he could clue in Rin pulled out his phone and showed Orlando a picture.

“Erica knew I liked Vincent,” Rin explained, “so we tried on clothes together and she took a picture for me to send him. She said that if you’re interested in someone it’s better to make things obvious.”

A memory came rushing back to Vincent, of Rin posing coquettishly in a red cheongsam with a _very_ daring hemline. The way Orlando’s eyes bulged at Rin’s screen confirmed what he was seeing. Vincent began to splutter something out, but Rin was already showing Jonny and Toby the photo.

“I didn’t think it would work,” Rin mused, “but that same night Vincent told me he was-”

“Okay!” Vincent cut in, closing his hand around Rin’s flip phone. “That’s enough show and tell for now, Rin.”

Rin hugged the phone to his chest, glancing around the table at the four friends avoiding his gaze. Vincent’s and Toby’s faces were bright red as they sipped their drinks. Jonny coughed and took a drag on his cigarette while Orlando just stared at the table.

“Did I do something wrong?” Rin asked timidly.

The others tripped over themselves to reassure him. 

“It was just…” Vincent trailed off.

Jonny flicked ash off his cigarette. “Normally you don’t share-”

“It was good advice, Rin,” Orlando interrupted. “Being direct, I mean. I’ll keep that in mind.”

“If you send her something like _that_ it will definitely get her attention,” Toby snickered.

This time Rin was in on the joke and he joined the others in a bout of long, noisy laughter. Erica circled to their table and cleared their empty drinks while she waited for them to calm down.

“Someone made a good one,” she noted. “What did I miss?”

“Rin was giving Orlando advice for… impressing someone he’s interested in,” Vincent explained.

“It was your advice, Erica,” Rin piped up. “About making things obvious.”

“Ahhh,” Erica said with a knowing smile. Vincent wasn’t surprised that her memory was better than his. “Maybe try a new hat,” she suggested to Orlando. “Not all guys have what it takes for opening with a saucy photo. Right, stud?”

Erica bumped Toby’s arm playfully before leaving with her tray of glasses. The others raised their eyebrows and watched Toby with interest as his face slowly flushed again.

“What exactly did she mean by that,” Orlando chuckled before he added, “ _stud_?”

“We’re not talking about this,” Toby said flatly.

“Oh come on,” Jonny said, chewing his cigarette to try and stifle his laughter. “Rin showed us his glamour shot so it’s only fair that-”

Toby’s head sank behind his beer glass. “We are _not_ talking about this,” he insisted.

“Just give us a hint,” Vincent said between laughs. “About what sort of costume you picked out?”

Toby pulled down his hat over his eyes as his friends threw out guesses.

“Cowboy?”

“Football player?

“Police uniform?”

“How about a devil? With little red horns?”

“Oh!” Rin clapped his hands together with a gleeful expression as he joined in. “Maybe a biker, with a leather vest?”

Customers from across the bar turned in their seats to see who was howling with laughter from one of the booths. Toby made an excuse as he stood up and strode away from their table, but no one could hear it through the riotous giggles.

***

Vincent woke with a start in sheer darkness. His eyes darted frantically until at last they spotted the faint glow of his alarm clock and its red numbers, which told him it was nearly three.

The nightmare he had woken up from – of sheep, towers of blocks and falling into a dark, empty chasm – was still so fresh in his mind that it felt real.

He felt a weight roll onto his chest and flinched, ducking behind his arms instinctively. The weight rose off him with a frightened gasp and Vincent realized his mistake.

“Here,” he said softly, wrapping his arms around Rin and his fuzzy pyjamas. Rin settled back down with his head nestled against Vincent’s shoulder and stroked his fingers lightly over Vincent’s collarbone.

“Bad dreams again?” he wondered.

“I’m just glad you don’t get them,” Vincent sighed.

“But if I did maybe I could help you through them, like before.”

“You still do,” Vincent said, giving Rin’s shoulder a squeeze. “Trust me, you help more than you know. Did I wake you up?”

“Uh-uh. I’ve been up thinking all night.”

“About what?”

“Places I want to go,” Rin said wistfully. “Places I want to take you.”

Vincent trailed a finger up and down the zipper of Rin’s pyjamas as he reflected in silence. “You’re not getting bored of being back here, are you?”

It was comforting to hear Rin giggle in the darkness, even if it made Vincent feel silly for all the time he had spent fretting.

“Of course not. Are _you_ getting bored?”

“No way,” Vincent said. “I’m in heaven.”

He felt Rin lift his head and he stopped stroking Vincent’s chest. “What’s it like in heaven?”

Vincent laughed softly. “That’s a funny question for an angel to ask.”

Rin ruffled a hand playfully through Vincent’s hair. “You know that angels and heaven don’t really have anything to do with my people. From the way humans talk about them so much it’s obvious they know more than we do.”

“Well…” Vincent took a long moment to think through the question, stroking Rin’s arm while he mulled it over. “Heaven is… a place where you have everything you need. Where all your loved ones are with you, and each of them is happy. And you spend all your days enjoying time with them.”

Rin’s hand groped along Vincent’s jaw in the darkness then he leaned down to press a soft, slow kiss on Vincent’s lips. He laid back down, resting his head on Vincent’s chest and draping an arm over him.

“Did that answer your question?” Vincent asked.

“Yes,” Rin murmured sleepily. “I’m in heaven too.”

**Author's Note:**

> I thrive on feedback – good or bad – so if you made it this far I would love to hear some!


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